His Favorite Topic
by Toph13139
Summary: Crown Prince Gonzu has one last question to ask his father before he's gone. One Shot.


As he lay on his bed, his body wrinkled and rusty and his years of adolescence long gone, Fire Lord Zuko felt the last minutes of his life tick by. Old age had hit him hard, and apparently that was hereditary. Along with that old age had also come the eternal forgetfulness that made Zuko unfit to remain on the throne. His youngest son, Gonzu, was the one he had chosen to become Fire Lord. Or at least that's how he remembered it. Zuko knew that two of his children turned down the opportunity to become the heir or heiress apparent to the throne. He had had no choice.

Zuko felt a soft hand wrap around his. His eyes went to the stranger's face. To the old man's surprise, the man in his room was no stranger at all. It was his youngest son, Gonzu. The one who was going to take the throne as soon as he died. Zuko smiled at his son and squeezed his hand tight. In his eyes, Gonzu was still a three year old boy, asking all kinds of questions about any kind of topic. It was such a warming feeling to have someone familiar with him, and someone to talk to before he left the human world. At 95 years old, Zuko was lucky to still have someone that loved him. With the little breath he had left, Zuko spoke to his son.

"Why are you so afflicted, boy?" Zuko asked, mimicking the empathy and love his Uncle once had towards him. "What can this old man do for you?" Gonzu chuckled at his father's comment and turned to stare at the dying Fire Lord. Zuko knew that his son's face reminded him of someone he used to love a long time ago, but he couldn't quite pinpoint whom. The black hair, the kind smile and the soft eyes, they were all too familiar.

"Dad, it's the third time you've greeted me tonight."

The shock on Zuko's face was so genuine Gonzu felt the sudden urge laugh at it. Gonzu felt bad, of course, for laughing at his father's delirious talk, but he couldn't help himself anymore. A 50 year old man also had the right to laugh, correct? To Gonzu's surprise, Fire Lord Zuko joined his son in laughter, which only fueled the light mood in the room despite the fact that, outside, everyone was making the proper arrangements for the Royal Funeral.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Zuko began. "Your Uncle Aang. He is so eager to laugh and so full of joy. And he is so full of life too. You know, one time we were camping out in the woods, right here in the Fire Nation, and in the distance you could hear the sound of a crying boar-q-pine. Obviously, we did not know what to do. Actually, could you call him in here? He tells the story way better than I—"

"Dad, he's dead." Gonzu didn't even stutter. It would not be the first time he'd be telling his father that everyone he knew was dead, or at least most of them. After Aang, Zuko would ask about Sokka, Gonzu would answer he's dead; then Zuko would ask about Suki, and Gonzu would answer she was dead; then Zuko would ask about Toph, Gonzu would answer she was around, waiting for the news of his death to reach her.

"… What… What about your mother?"

And Gonzu would nod his head solemnly as his father's eyes swelled with tears. Gonzu could not count the times his father had cried about his mother, but the tears were twice as much upon hearing the news of Katara's death. For a while, a very short while, Gonzu had been ignorant of this fact; of why his Aunt Katara's death meant more to his father than the one of his wife. Now he knew. Gonzu had been brave enough to ask once, and that question had led to a series of conversations that cleared Gonzu's childhood doubts.

"And just in case," Gonzu continued. "Aunt Katara is dead, too."

And just as he had predicted, Zuko's face became that of a man with a broken heart. But this time, he didn't cry. Perhaps, subconsciously, Lord Zuko had become all too familiar with the questioning process. After all, almost everyone else was dead, so he should not be that surprised that his love was gone as well.

His love. Gonzu still could not believe those words, even when they had haunted his mind for so long. And still he wondered how many secrets had the Fire Lord had apart from that affair? Gonzu considered, rather wisely, that now would be the best time to answer those questions once and for all.

"Dad, can I ask you something?"

"About what?"

"Aunt Katara."

"Oh, I love talking about her."

"You do?"

Zuko nodded. "She's my favorite topic."

Gonzu looked at the ground, angered by his father's comment. Gonzu loved his aunt Katara, yes. But obviously not more than he loved his mother. And to think that the family he once thought to be perfect was a lie because of that other woman… He simply didn't know what to think. Gonzu wished his mother was alive so that he could tell her. Chances were that Zhen, his older brother, would stop him from doing so, as he always took their father's side.

Now that he thought of it, Gonzu was pretty sure that Zhen had known about that affair. Then again, judging his thoughts, Gonzu could tell why his brother never told him about it. Still holding his son's hand, Zuko raised them both in order to call for Gonzu's attention. The Crown Prince lifted his head to look at his father, but the pain in Zuko's face had no words. It was the first time Gonzu saw him that way. So sad and… Well, pathetic. However, Gonzu could tell he didn't have much time left, so he decided to ask what he was about to ask in the first place.

"Dad, how long have you loved Aunt Katara?"

Zuko's gaze turned to the ceiling, completely lost amongst the cataracts that clouded his eyes. A smile crept up the old man's silky face, making the wrinkles look even deeper around his lips. With the other hand, Zuko covered this hand's son completely, without looking at him in the face.

"Son… I still love her." Zuko was the one chuckling alone. Gonzu shook his head, disappointed in the answer. So, his father's love for his mistress managed to transcend, but his love for Gonzu's mother had died with her. "Gonzu, why are you so troubled, child?"

"I'm not a child anymore, Dad, I'm 50."

"Well, you're still a child."

Gonzu sighed. "Why?"

Zuko's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to understand the meaning behind his son's question. It didn't take him too long, though. His intelligence and perception was something the years were not able to take away from him. "My mother… Mom was a great woman. She loved you, she loved us, she… She was everything you could ask for and need. Why would you do that to her?"

"… It's not as simple as it sounds—"

"Yes, it is, Dad. If you had trouble, you could've talked. Why did you have to turn to another woman? My Mom was unhappy and miserable the last years of her life because of you." Zuko turned his face away from Gonzu and closed his eyes, swallowing the tears that threatened to fall. Quickly enough, Gonzu regretted his words. This wasn't the way to spend the last few minutes of his father's life.

"I'm sorry," Zuko whispered, breaking the silence. "Could you please hand me that box, over there, close to the mirror?" A bony finger pointed at a small, wooden box lying on the table located on the other side of the room. Gonzu let go of his father's hand and stood up to take it. As soon as the box was in his hands, Zuko asked his son to give it to him.

"This…" Zuko said as he took out the light blue necklace out of the box. The pendant glittered with the dim light of the candles. "This is the last reminder I have of her. She gave it to me before she left with Aang to never return. She couldn't do it anymore, and I couldn't do it anymore… Because we loved them. She loved Aang and I loved Mai. And we couldn't do it anymore. We had to stop before it got any worse than it already was."

Gonzu stared at the familiar necklace with cold eyes. He didn't care anymore about his father's affair. He couldn't _take_ it anymore. As fascinating as it sounded, Gonzu still couldn't get over the fact that all those fights between his father and his mother were because of a third person in the relationship. All that hatred the Fire Lady had towards Aunt Katara was justified, and as a child, Gonzu could not see anything detestable about his adorable waterbending aunt.

Gonzu took his father's hand again. The old Fire Lord's pulse was slowing down by the minute. The time was coming, and Gonzu knew it would be best to stop re-opening more scars in the old man. Negative emotion could to ravage just as viciously as the febrile terrors of injury or illness. Gonzu knew that. The Fire Lord clutched the necklace with his free hand and placed the fist on his chest. With eyes locked on the ceiling once again, Zuko knew his time was coming.

Gonzu decided that it would be better if the conversation kept its pace. "Let's talk about my mom, yes?"

"Oh, I love talking about your mother."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes. She's my favorite topic."


End file.
